US Passport Revoked Tax Debt Rules: What Americans in the UK Should Know
The US can deny or revoke your passport if you owe more than a set amount of assessed federal tax. Here is how the threshold works, what is excluded, what happens if you live in the UK, and how to get a certification reversed.
A tax debt certification can stop a passport renewal, which matters most when the US passport is your route between the UK and home.
Written by the US UK Tax Experts team, cross-border tax specialists
US passport revoked tax debt rules: an introduction
Yes, the US can deny or revoke your passport over unpaid tax, and the US passport revoked tax debt rules apply wherever you live. The IRS certifies a "seriously delinquent tax debt" to the State Department. The State Department must then refuse a new passport and may revoke the one you hold. For 2026, the IRS threshold is $66,000 of assessed tax, penalties and interest.
This article explains what counts, what is excluded and how to get a certification reversed from the UK. Most Americans in the UK who fall behind do so because they never filed, not because they refused to pay. For that wider problem, read our guide to IRS Streamlined filing, which covers catching up on missed years.
Why US passport revoked tax debt cases matter more abroad
At home, a passport problem can delay a holiday. Abroad, your US passport is often your only proof of the right to travel to the US. Furthermore, if you are not a UK citizen, it may sit behind your UK visa or settlement status. Therefore, a certification can strand you in a way that never affects someone living in Ohio. In our experience, people often learn of it only when they renew.
What is a seriously delinquent tax debt?
A seriously delinquent tax debt is an assessed federal tax debt above an inflation-adjusted threshold where the IRS has filed a lien or made a levy. All of those conditions must be met before the IRS can certify you.
The definition in the tax code
The rule is in section 7345 of the Internal Revenue Code. It defines the debt as an unpaid, legally enforceable federal tax liability of an individual. The debt must have been assessed and must exceed $50,000, adjusted for inflation from 2016. Additionally, either a notice of federal tax lien has been filed and your appeal rights have been used or have lapsed, or the IRS has made a levy.
The threshold for 2026
The IRS page on revocation or denial of a passport for unpaid taxes gives the current figure. It is $66,000 for 2026, up from $64,000 for 2025 and $62,000 for 2024. The total includes assessed penalties and interest, not just the tax. Consequently, a smaller tax bill can cross the line once years of interest are added.
Where the rule comes from
Congress created the rule in the FAST Act, signed in December 2015. The IRS manual section on passport certification, IRM 5.19.25, records this history. It also sets out the procedures IRS staff follow before and after certifying a debt.
Which debts are excluded from the passport rules?
Several kinds of debt are never certified, and others are left out as a matter of IRS policy. The most useful exclusions for people abroad are payment plans, offers in compromise and hardship status.
Exclusions written into the law
Section 7345 itself excludes a debt you are paying on time under an installment agreement. It also excludes a debt being paid under an accepted offer in compromise. Moreover, a debt is excluded while a collection due process hearing about a levy is requested or pending. Finally, it is excluded while you have asked for innocent spouse relief.
Exclusions under IRS policy
The IRS adds further exclusions in its manual and on its passport page. These cover debts in hardship status, which the IRS calls currently not collectible. They also cover a pending installment agreement or offer, identity theft victims, bankruptcy and people in a federally declared disaster area. However, these come from IRS policy rather than the statute. Therefore, the IRS could change them without new legislation.
FBAR penalties do not count
FBAR penalties are not tax debts for this purpose. The IRS manual says they are asserted under Title 31 as a non-tax debt, and the passport page lists them as excluded. Child support is excluded too. Our article on FBAR penalties explains how those penalties work.
Unfiled years and unassessed tax
The law applies only to assessed tax. Tax on a return you never filed is usually not assessed until the IRS acts. Therefore, unfiled years do not, on their own, trigger the US passport revoked tax debt rules. However, the IRS can prepare a substitute return and assess tax, and that debt can then grow towards the threshold.
Checking whether you are at risk
Start with your IRS account transcripts, which show assessed balances, penalties and interest by year. Next, compare the total with the current threshold. Then check whether a lien has been filed or a levy made. If all three conditions are met, the US passport revoked tax debt rules can apply to you. Otherwise, you have time to act before certification, and acting early is far easier.
How does the IRS tell you about a certification?
The IRS sends Notice CP508C to your last known address when it certifies your debt. Earlier collection letters will usually have warned you that passport action was possible.
Notice CP508C
Notice CP508C is the letter that tells you the IRS has certified your debt to the State Department. The IRS page explaining your CP508C notice sets out what it means and what you can do. Notably, the IRS says it does not send this notice to a power of attorney. If your last known address is an old US home, the letter may never reach you in the UK.
The warning signs before CP508C
Before certification, you usually receive balance due notices and then a notice of intent to levy. The IRS notice CP504, for example, mentions passport denial for seriously delinquent tax debt. Similarly, a notice of federal tax lien must have been filed, or a levy made, before certification. If you have moved, update your address with the IRS so these letters reach you in time.
What the State Department does next
Under 22 CFR 51.60, the State Department may not issue a passport to someone certified under section 7345. That refusal is mandatory. Separately, 22 CFR 51.62 allows it to revoke or limit a passport you already hold. Revocation is discretionary, so not every certified person loses a current passport.
What happens if you live in the UK?
If you live in the UK, the main risk arises at renewal or after a revocation. The State Department can issue a limited-validity passport for direct return to the US.
Renewing at the US Embassy in London
Your application will be held rather than refused outright when the IRS certification shows. The IRS passports page says the State Department holds an application open for 90 days after its letter. That gives you time to resolve the debt. However, 90 days passes quickly if records must be found and returns prepared first.
A limited passport to travel home
The regulations allow a limited-validity passport for direct return to the US, or for emergency or humanitarian reasons. That helps if you must travel urgently. However, it does not restore your normal travel. For an American who has built a life in the UK, it is a safety net, not a solution.
Expedited reversal for people abroad
The IRS offers expedited reversal to people who live abroad and to those travelling within 45 days. According to the IRS passport page, it typically takes 9 to 16 days. You need proof of travel and a State Department denial or revocation letter dated within the last 90 days. Meanwhile, you must first resolve the debt, for example through a payment plan.
Your UK immigration status
If you hold UK citizenship as well, you can still travel on your British passport. However, 8 USC 1185(b) generally requires US citizens to enter and leave the US on a valid US passport. Therefore, a dual citizen with a US passport revoked tax debt problem still cannot visit the US normally. If you are not British, your UK visa or settled status may be linked to your US passport, which adds a further complication.
How do you get a passport certification reversed?
You get a certification reversed by paying the debt or moving it into an excluded status, such as a payment plan. The IRS then reverses the certification within 30 days and sends Notice CP508R.
Paying in full or under a plan
Full payment ends the debt and the certification. If you cannot pay in full, the IRS page on payment plans and installment agreements sets out the options. A long-term plan is generally for balances of $50,000 or less, and all required returns must be filed. Consequently, a larger debt may need a partial payment first, or a different route.
An offer in compromise
An offer in compromise is an agreement to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount. The IRS page on the offer in compromise explains who qualifies. A pending offer generally takes a debt out of seriously delinquent status, as the CP508C page notes. However, offers are judged on what you can pay, so they suit genuine hardship.
Hardship and other routes
If you cannot pay anything, the IRS may place the debt in currently not collectible status. That status is one of the policy exclusions. Alternatively, if the debt arose from a spouse's return, an innocent spouse request pauses certification. A collection due process hearing request also pauses it while the hearing is pending.
When the IRS reverses certification
Section 7345 sets the timing. For an installment agreement, offer or innocent spouse case, the IRS must notify the State Department within 30 days. For an erroneous certification, it must act as soon as practicable. Moreover, the law lets you take the IRS to court if you believe the certification was wrong.
A worked example of the US passport revoked tax debt rules
Consider a typical case. Mark is a US citizen who moved to Edinburgh some years ago. Before leaving, he sold a US rental property and filed his return, but he did not pay the tax. He then stopped opening IRS letters sent to his old address. This is an illustrative example, not a real client.
Over time, interest and penalties pushed his assessed balance to $72,000. The IRS filed a lien and later certified the debt. Mark discovered this when the embassy held his passport renewal. Because the balance exceeds $50,000, a long-term plan is not available online. Therefore, Mark pays enough to bring the balance under that figure, then sets up a plan. The certification is reversed and his renewal proceeds.
What Mark's case shows
Mark's problem was the unpaid bill, not his UK life. However, he also never filed after moving, so the IRS will expect those returns too. Under the payment plan rules, all required returns must be filed. Consequently, his catch-up filings and his payment plan have to be handled together, and that is often the real work in a US passport revoked tax debt case.
How US UK Tax Experts can help
US UK Tax Experts prepares the US returns you need to bring your filing up to date, alongside your UK return, from one file. If you have unfiled years as well as a balance, we prepare the catch-up through the right route. Our Streamlined filing service covers missed years, and our article on not filing US taxes while living in the UK explains the first steps. We do not negotiate debts or give financial advice. However, we can prepare the returns and figures a payment plan application needs. The IRS Streamlined procedures page explains that route.
Conclusion
The US passport revoked tax debt rules apply only to large, assessed debts where the IRS has filed a lien or levied. For 2026, the threshold is $66,000 including penalties and interest. Payment plans, offers and hardship status keep a debt out of certification. If you live in the UK, act before your renewal date, keep your IRS address current and deal with any unfiled years at the same time.
Contact us
If you are worried about the US passport revoked tax debt rules, email hello@usuktaxexperts.com or use our contact form. Tell us which years you have filed and any IRS notices you hold. We reply within one working day.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The rules apply wherever you live, once the IRS certifies a seriously delinquent tax debt to the State Department. The State Department must then refuse a new passport and may revoke your current one. It can issue a limited passport for direct return to the US.
For 2026 the IRS threshold is $66,000 of assessed tax, penalties and interest. The figure is indexed for inflation each year. It was $64,000 for 2025.
Not on their own, because the rules apply only to assessed tax. However, the IRS can prepare a substitute return and assess tax for a missing year. That assessed debt can then count, so unfiled years are still worth dealing with.
No. FBAR penalties are a non-tax debt under Title 31, and the IRS lists them as excluded. Child support is excluded too.
Pay the debt in full, or move it into an excluded status such as an installment agreement, an offer in compromise or hardship status. The IRS then reverses the certification within 30 days and sends Notice CP508R. People living abroad can ask for an expedited reversal.
CP508C is the IRS notice telling you that your tax debt has been certified to the State Department. It is sent to your last known address, not to a representative. If you have moved to the UK, update your address so you receive it.
